Hypodermic syringe



Oct. 28, 1952 P. B. LINGENr-'ELTER 2,615,446

HYPODERMIC SYRINGE Filed may 15, 1951 IN VEN TOR. gva; B. C /NGE/w-fgrf@ Patented Oct. 28, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HYPODERMICSYRINGE Paul B. Lingenfelter, clinton, Okla. Application May 15, 1951,Serial No. 226,379

This invention relates to hypodermic syringes and more particularly to areusable syringe of predetermined capacity especially adapted for use inclinics and in the eld, although' it may also be used in hospitals,physicians oilces, and similar places to facilitate the work of medicalpersonnel.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide an improvedhypodermic syringe of small size and light weight for its capacity,which is operated by manually compressing' and releasing a bulb ofresilient sheet material constituting the container portion of thesyringe; in which the needle may be either permanently attached to thecontainer portion or detachably connected thereto and, in the case of apermanently attached needle, a needle cover may be detachably secured tothe container in enclosing relationship to `the needle; which includes acontainer of attened shape so that substantiallyall of the contents canbe forced from the container through the needle by linger pressure onthe container and which container has an edge substantially inlongitudinal alignment with the needle to facilitate inserting theneedle into the skin of a patient; which can be thoroughly sterilized alarge number of times without damage or deterioration; and which issimple and durable in construction, economical to manufacture, positiveand effective in use and neat and attractive in appearance.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a, considerationof the following description andthe appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawing wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a hypodermic syringe illustrativeof the invention;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 with a portion of the syringebroken away and shown in cross section to better illustrate .theconstruction thereof;

Figure 3 is a top -plan view of the syringe illustrated in Figure 1 witha portion broken away land shown Ain cross section to better illustratethe construction of the syringe, the syringe being shown in a compressedcondition in this figure;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the syringe illustrated in Figure 1 witha needle cover mounted on the syringe, the needle cover being shown inlongitudinal cross section;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view of a. somewhat modied form ofsyringe showing the syringe with the needle removed and a protectivecovering on the needle receivingboss or the syringe; and

5 Claims. (Cl. 12S-216) Figure 6 is a side elevational view of themodified form of syringe with the protective covering removed and aneedle attached, a portion of the syringe being broken away and shown incross section to better illustrate the construction there- Withcontinued reference to the drawing, the syringe illustrated in Figures1, 2 and 3 comprises, in general, a container I0 and a hypodermic needleII permanently secured at one Yend toy one end of the container.

The container I0 is formed of a sheet material having characteristics ofresiliency and resistance to sterilizing temperatures, such materialbeing either a synthetic resin, such as vinyl-vinylidene chlorideresins, polyethylene, polyamide resins, commonly known as nylon, vinylchloride resins, or vinyl chloride-acetate resins, or -a syntheticrubber, such as polychloroprene, butadienestyrene copolymers,butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymers, or isobutylene-diolen copolymer.

The container is elongated and iiattened and has at one end asubstantially straight edge I2 4provided by pressing the side walls ofthe condrical shape having a substantially hemispherically rounded outerend and having a bore I4 extending longitudinally Ytherethrough andcommunicating with the interior of the container, the bore tapering fromthe outer end of the boss toward the container, as is particularlyillustrated in Figure 2.

The boss I3 is connected at its other endl to the container by a neckportion I4 of the container. Rounded shoulders I5 and I5 extend from theneck portion I4 to the side edges I1 and -I8 respectively of thecontainer. The shoulder I5 is longer than the shoulder I6 so that theside edge I1 is spaced further from the neck portion ,I4 than is theside edge I8, the shoulder I6 preferably being so slight that the sideedge yI' extends from one end of the straight edge I2 at the end of thecontainer remote from the boss .I3 to the neck portion I4 substantiallyin alignment with the boss i3 and the needle I I.

Having the needle adjacent one edge of the container and substantiallyin longitudinal alignment therewith greatlyfacilitates inserting theneedle into the skin of a patient. The material of the container and theboss has rsuflcient stiiiness and rigidity that` the needle can beinserted by pressure transmitted through the container and the bosswithout compressing the container sufficiently to eject fluid contentstherefrom, the uid contents of the container being ejected through theneedle by additional linger pressure on the container after the needlehas been inserted.

The longitudina1 edges I'I and I8 of the container are transverselyrounded and the container is thicker at its end connected to the boss I3than at its end remote from the boss and tapers in thickness from itsboss adjacent end to its other end. This provides a construction inwhich substantially the entire contents of the container can be ejectedfrom the container through the needle II by pressing the side walls ISand 2B of the container together, as illustrated in Figure 3. Thecontainer is accurately formed so that it has a definite, predeterminedvolumetric capacity corresponding to the dosage of the material to beinjected by the syringe. For example, a syringe container may have acapacity of one cubic centimeter or of one and a half, two or threecubic centimeters, as may be desired.

In the arrangement illustrated in Figures l, 2 and 3, the needle II hasa pointed end and has at its other end an elongated collar or sleeve 2Ireceived in the bore I4 of the boss I 3 and secured in the boss by beingcemented, fused or vulcanized therein. This sleeve or collar 2| istapered to the same taper as the bore of the boss and is preferablyroughened or knurled on its surface to provide a secure connectionbetween the needle co1- lar and the boss of the container.

The material of the container has a sufficient stiffness and resiliencythat the syringe can be relled by pressing the side Walls of thecontainer together and, with the pointed end of the needle inserted inliquid in a suitable receptacle, by releasing the pressure on thesidewalls of the container the container will resume its normal shapeand draw liquid through the needle into the container to completely llthe container. It is possible to quickly and easily fill the syringecontainer with the exclusion of air pockets and bubbles completely fromthe container contents.

Where the needle is permanently secured in the container, as describedabove, a needle cover is provided to protect* the needle and keep it ina sanitary condition, such cover being particularly illustrated inFigure 4 and generally indicated at 22. This needle cover 22 comprisesan elongated tubular body formedof a suitable material, such as asynthetic resin plastic or synthetic rubber and has a bore 23 therein ofa size to loosely receive the needle II and a counterbore- 24 at one endof the bore 23 of a size to tightly receive the boss I3, the end of thecover remote from the counterbore being closed, as indicated at 25.

The portion of the cover surrounding the counterbore 24 is enlarged, andis joined to the smaller, outer portion of the cover at the adjoiningends of the two portions by a beveled, annular shoulder 2B.

The counterbore 24 of the needle cover snugly receives` the boss I3 andthe boss is; preferably tapered in a direction away from the containerso that the cover can be easily assembled with and removed from theboss. An annular shoulder 21 is preferably provided at the inner end ofthe boss, and the adjacent end of the cover bears against this shoulderto` provide a. smooth outer surface from the neck I4 to the outer end ofthe enlarged portion of the cover when the cover is mounted on thesyringe, as illustrated in Figure 4. f

In the somewhat modied arrangement illustrated in Figures 5 and 6, vthecontainer I0 is the Same as that illustrated in Figures l to 5 inclusiveand described above, but in this case, the needle, generally indicatedat 30, is detachably connected to the boss of the container.

As illustrated in Figure 5, the boss I3 of the modified form ofcontainer, is outwardly tapered, as indicated above, and is providedwith a bore 3| extending longitudinally therethrough from its outer toits inner end and communicating with the interior of the container IIl.When the syringe is not in use, a cap 32 is mounted on the boss toprotect the boss against contamination and to prevent leakage ofcontents from the container. This cap is a cylindrical body of suitablesynthetic resin or synthetic rubber material and has a rounded outer end33 and a cavity 34 opening to its other end and shaped to closelyreceive the boss I 3. This cap may be placed on the boss and removedtherefrom, as desired.

The needle 30 comprises a needle shank 35 received at one end in athimble structure 36 which has a cavity opening to the end thereofremote from the needle shank and shaped to closely receive the boss I3and a bore connecting the inner end of this cavity to the bore of theneedle shank. Exteriorly the thimble structure 36 comprises asubstantially cylindrical portion 3l' at the end of the thimblestructure remote from the needle shank, a portion 38 of square orpolygonal cross sectional shape at the end of the portion 31 adjacentthe needle shank and an outwardly tapered end portion 39 into which oneend of the needle shank is inserted.

In the form of the invention shown in Figures 5 and 6 the bottom edge I8of the container is substantially in longitudinal alignment with theneedle shank to facilitate inserting the needle into the skin of apatient by pressure exerted on the container I0 only.

The invention may be embodied in other specie forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiments are, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the Ymeaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

l. A hypoderrnic syringe comprising a container of resilient sheetmaterial having a attened shape with a substantially straight edge atone end and a needle receiving boss projecting from its other end andhaving a bore therethrough communicating with the'interior of saidcontainer, said container having a substantially straight edge extendingfrom one end of the first mentioned straight edge to said bosssubstantially in longitudinal alignment with the latter.

2. A hypodermic syringe comprising a container having a needle receivingboss at oney end and a needle connected at one end to said boss andprojecting outwardly from said. container, said container comprising aclosed hollow body of flattened shape and formed of resilient sheetmaterial, said body having transversely rounded longitudinal edges androunded shoulders extending from4 said bosstc said longitudinaledges,one ofsaid shoulders being shorter than, the other -to position, saidboss adjacent the4 corresponding tainer having a needle receiving bossat one end and a needle connected at one end to said boss and projectingoutwardly from said container, said container comprising a closed hollowbody of iiattened shape and formed of resilient sheet material, saidbody having transversely rounded longitudinal edges and roundedshoulders extending respectively from said boss to said longitudinaledges and being tapered in thickness from the end thereof adjacent saidboss to its other end with a substantially straight edge at its otherend, one of said shoulders being shorter than the other to dispose thecorresponding longitudinal edge substantially in longitudinal alignmentwith said needle.

4. A hypodermc ,syringe comprising a container having a needle receivingboss at one end and a needle connected at one end to said boss andprojecting outwardly from said container, said container comprising aclosed hollow body of iiattened shape and formed of resilient sheetmaterial, said body having transversely rounded longitudinal edges androunded shoulders extending from said boss to said longitudinal edges.one of said shoulders being shorter than the other to position thecorresponding longitudinal edge substantially in longitudinal alignmentwith said needle, said boss having a bore extending longitudinallytherethrough and tapering from the outer end of said boss to the end ofthe latter joined to said container and said needle having at said oneend a tapered elongated collar tting the bore of said boss and securedtherein.

5. A hypodermic syringe comprising a container having a needle receivingboss at one end and a needle connected at one end to said boss andprojecting outwardly from said container, said container comprising aclosed hollow body of flattened shape and formed of resilient sheetmaterial, s aid body having transverselirounded longitudinal edges androunded shoulders extending fr'm said boss to said longitudinal edges,one of said shoulders being shorterv than the other to positionsaid bossadjacent the corresponding longitudinal edge, said boss being outwardlytapered and said needle having at one end a thixiible structure having atapered cavity opening to one end thereof and closely receiving saidboss.

PAUL B. LmGENFELTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the n file oithisl patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS

